Research Focus

Combining inorganic synthesis, nanotechnology, formulation science and spectroscopy, my research group incorporates a multidisciplinary team to synthesize novel inorganic complexes, which undergo a photoinduced ligand exchange upon irradiation for use in Photodynamic Therapy in the treatment of cancer. Currently, my research group can be divided in three teams: 1) an inorganic core lab which focuses on synthesis and photophysical characterization of new metal coordination complexes, 2) a spectroscopy lab that investigates the excited state dynamics of potential photochemotherapy agents and photophysics in biological milieu and 3) a pharmacology team that formulates these complexes into nano-sized "pills" which contain a photo-triggered agent. In order to achieve these research goals, undergraduate researchers in my lab work on a personalized research project but heavily collaborate with one another to achieve the overall research goal; a photo-deliverable photodynamic therapy agent.